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349977

registered interest
date	11/06/2015
answering body	Northern Ireland Office
answering dept id	21
answering dept short name	Northern Ireland
answering dept sort name	Northern Ireland
hansard heading	Equal Pay: Northern Ireland
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent assessment she has made of progress in closing the gender pay gap in Northern Ireland.
tabling member constituency	Bury South
tabling member printed	Mr Ivan Lewis
uin	2090
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/06/2015 answer text <p>In recent years the pay gap in Northern Ireland has continued to narrow. In Northern Ireland tackling the gender pay gap is mainly the responsibility of Northern Ireland Executive Ministers but the Government is also playing its part.</p><p>The gender pay gap in the UK has fallen to its lowest level ever and has been virtually eliminated among full-time workers under the age of 40, but our goal must be to eliminate it and as the Conservative Manifesto states, “we will push business to do so.” The Government is tackling systemic pay inequalities through a range of measures including extending flexible working and introducing shared parental leave.</p><p>The Conservative Manifesto makes clear this Government’s commitment to “full, genuine gender equality” and states that “we will to require companies with more than 250 employees to publish the difference between the average pay of their male and female employees.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Chipping Barnet answering member printed Mrs Theresa Villiers grouped question UIN 1506 question first answered 15/06/2015 10:44:09 answering member 1500 label Biography information for Theresa Villiers
tabling member	441 label Biography information for Mr Ivan Lewis

350136

registered interest
date	11/06/2015
answering body	Department for Energy and Climate Change
answering dept id	63
answering dept short name	Energy and Climate Change
answering dept sort name	Energy and Climate Change
hansard heading	Warm Home Discount Scheme
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to increase the number of households eligible for the Warm Home Discount.
tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
uin	HL450
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/06/2015 answer text <p>The Warm Home Discount scheme is established in regulations until March 2016.</p><p>As set out in the fuel poverty strategy published in March 2015, the Government will continue to consider the role of energy bill rebates as a tool both for cost effective progress against the fuel poverty target and for alleviating the negative impacts of energy price rises in low income low cost households.</p> answering member printed Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth question first answered 15/06/2015 11:39:24 answering member 4282 label Biography information for Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

349513

registered interest
date	10/06/2015
answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept id	26
answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
hansard heading	Unfair Dismissal
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the difficulties faced by employees who are sacked in their first two years of employment, in the light of changes to employment law and employment tribunal fees.
tabling member printed	Lord Ouseley
uin	HL382
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/06/2015 answer text <p>The qualifying period for unfair dismissal was increased to two years in 2012. From initial analysis we cannot see any clear signs that this has had a negative impact on employment. ONS Labour Market Statistics show a decreasing trend in unemployment figures and according to the CBI/Accenture employment trends survey 2014, half of employers (50%) expect their workforce to be larger in 12 months’ time.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Ministry of Justice has initiated a review of the impact of employment tribunal fees. We will consider the outcome of this review in due course.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Neville-Rolfe question first answered 15/06/2015 16:09:38 answering member 4284 label Biography information for Baroness Neville-Rolfe
tabling member	2170 label Biography information for Lord Ouseley

349545

registered interest
date	10/06/2015
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Refugees: Syria
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what further consideration have they given to taking in the quota of refugees from Syria suggested by the UN.
tabling member printed	Baroness Tonge
uin	HL414
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/06/2015 answer text <p>The Government is deeply concerned about the suffering and hardship caused by the Syrian conflict, and we are determined that the UK will continue to play our full part in responding to the humanitarian crisis.</p><p>The UK has donated £800 million in response to the crisis, making us the second largest bilateral donor after the USA, and helping to provide vital support to hundreds of thousands of displaced Syrians right across the region. Through the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation (VPR) scheme, we are also helping some of the most vulnerable Syrians who cannot be supported effectively in the region by offering them care and support in the UK, prioritising women and children at risk, people in severe need of medical care and survivors of torture and violence. The scheme runs in parallel to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees’ (UNHCR) Syrian humanitarian admission programme, as we believe we can contribute most by basing our resettlement scheme on need rather than a fulfilling a quota. However, we have said we expect the scheme to help several hundred people over three years, and we remain firmly on track to achieve that. We are working closely with the UNHCR to identify the most vulnerable displaced Syrians, and bring them to the UK. Between the first arrivals in March 2014 and the end of March this year, 187 people arrived under the scheme, and groups continue to arrive on a regular basis. This is in addition to Syrians the UK has granted asylum under our normal rules; since the crisis began in 2011, we have granted asylum or other forms of leave to over 4,200 Syrian nationals.</p><p>However, with 3.9 million displaced Syrians in Syria’s neighbouring countries and millions more in need within Syria itself, protection in the UK can only ever help a minority of those who so desperately need help. The Government strongly believes that the UK can have the greatest impact by continuing to focus our efforts on substantial humanitarian aid to help provide support to the majority of displaced people who remain in the region and ease the burden on their host countries. By the end of September last year, UK aid had delivered over 8.7 million food rations (each of which feeds one person for one month), provided access to clean water for 1.5 million people per month, and over 1.3 million medical consultations in Syria and the region. The VPR scheme, which is the first resettlement scheme operated by the UK to target beneficiaries specifically on the basis of vulnerability, complements our aid by focusing on providing support in the UK to some of the most vulnerable displaced people who cannot be supported effectively in the region.</p><p>We therefore have no current plans to participate in a quota resettlement scheme; we believe that our current approach is the best way for the UK to help people who are suffering due to the crisis.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 15/06/2015 14:06:27 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	200 label Biography information for Baroness Tonge

349553

registered interest
date	10/06/2015
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Off-payroll Working
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment his Department has made of the use of personal service companies as a means of tax avoidance; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
uin	1914
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/06/2015 answer text <p>This Government is committed to tackling tax avoidance and evasion at all levels to ensure everyone pays the right tax at the right time. Avoidance (and evasion) damage the ability of the tax system to deliver its objectives and impose additional costs on all taxpayers.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Personal Service Companies are not in themselves avoidance vehicles and contribute to the flexibility of the UK labour market. However, where people would have been employees if they were providing their services directly IR35 anti-avoidance legislation requires they pay broadly the same tax and National Insurance as other employees. HMRC takes a risk based approach to ensure these rules are complied with.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>HMRC has improved the way in which it administers IR35 including strengthening its specialist compliance teams, increasing the number of investigations where IR35 is the main risk tenfold and clarifying the application to officeholders.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South West Hertfordshire answering member printed Mr David Gauke question first answered 15/06/2015 16:59:51 answering member 1529 label Biography information for Mr David Gauke
tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

349554

registered interest
date	10/06/2015
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Off-payroll Working
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people paid their income tax via the use of personal service companies in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
uin	1915
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/06/2015 answer text <p>This information is not available, and could only be collected at disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South West Hertfordshire answering member printed Mr David Gauke question first answered 15/06/2015 16:53:07 answering member 1529 label Biography information for Mr David Gauke
tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

349555

registered interest
date	10/06/2015
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Burma: Rohingya
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the humanitarian situation affecting the Rohingya people in Rakhine State; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
uin	1916
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/06/2015 answer text <p>We remain deeply concerned by the dire humanitarian situation faced by the Rohingya in Rakhine State. The UK is one of the largest bilateral humanitarian donors in Rakhine State, contributing over £18m since 2012. We regularly raise the underlying political problems and human rights abuses both bilaterally and in international fora, where for several years the UK has sponsored Resolutions at both the UN Human Rights Council and General Assembly. We will continue to keep it high on both the bilateral and international agenda.</p> answering member constituency East Devon answering member printed Mr Hugo Swire question first answered 15/06/2015 14:47:17 answering member 1408 label Biography information for Lord Swire
tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

349556

registered interest
date	10/06/2015
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Burma: Rohingya
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has received from the Burmese government on the humanitarian situation affecting the Rohingya people in Rakhine State; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
uin	1917
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/06/2015 answer text <p>We have received no such representations. The UK raises the humanitarian situation of the Rohingya with the government of Burma at every opportunity. Most recently in relation to the crisis in the Andaman Sea, I called the Burmese Ambassador to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 18 May to make clear the need for an urgent humanitarian response and regional coordination. Our Ambassador in Rangoon delivered the same message in a demarche to Burmese Ministers, on 18 May and on 4 June.</p> answering member constituency East Devon answering member printed Mr Hugo Swire question first answered 15/06/2015 14:51:55 answering member 1408 label Biography information for Lord Swire
tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

349557

registered interest
date	10/06/2015
answering body	Department of Health
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health
answering dept sort name	Health
hansard heading	Wheelchairs: Assessments
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people in England were waiting for a wheelchair assessment in the most recent period for which figures are available; and how many people who have assessed as eligible for a wheelchair since February 2014 have waited (a) more than three, (b) more than six and (c) more than 12 months for the delivery of that equipment.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
uin	1918
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/06/2015 answer text <p>Wheelchair services are now commissioned by clinical commissioning groups.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Whilst the Health and Social Care Information Centre collects data about the health and social care system. The requested information is not collected by it.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North East Bedfordshire answering member printed Alistair Burt question first answered 15/06/2015 11:57:36 answering member 1201 label Biography information for Alistair Burt
tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

349558

registered interest
date	10/06/2015
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Pensioners: Income Tax
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of pensioners liable for income tax who are not sent tax forms by HM Revenue and Customs; and what steps he is taking to increase the number of pensioners being sent such forms.
tabling member constituency	Bristol North West
tabling member printed	Charlotte Leslie
uin	1901
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/06/2015 answer text <p>HMRC estimates there are around 6m pensioners, in receipt of State Pension, who are liable for income tax. Not all will be sent tax forms.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>There are no plans to increase the number of tax forms sent to any taxpayers, including pensioners.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency South West Hertfordshire answering member printed Mr David Gauke question first answered 15/06/2015 16:51:52 answering member 1529 label Biography information for Mr David Gauke
tabling member	3933 label Biography information for Charlotte Leslie